APRIL 20, 2017 — "I can envision a future scenario where a command center evaluates and issues drones for repair of an unmanned vessel – with no human intervention on board," said ABS Chief Technology Officer Howard Fireman told students, professors and guests at this year's University of Michigan Captain Ralph R. and Florence Peachman Lecture.

In a lecture titled "A Brave New World," Fireman, who is a University of Michigan Alumnus, outlined the challenges that will be introduced by the marine industry's transformation to autonomous vessels, explaining how data, systems and software will evolve to self-sufficiency on the vessel as navigational control and operational decision-making become more centralized. Recent changes already have affected the way industry looks at safety, he said, expanding the definition to include cybersecurity and software assurance.

Fireman identified some emerging technologies – advanced sensors robotics and artificial intelligence – that he says are establishing a "new normal" in industry and pointed out the changes these technologies might introduce.